Last week was Double-Christmas-Party-Day for me. First up, my immediate team and I went to Dandelion (133 Ormond Road, Elwood) for a late lunch - one of Geoff Lindsay's AWSBALLZ venues that we'd all heard a lot about, but never tried. Put quite simply: it was amazing.
There were seven of us (including one vegetarian and one non-seafood-eater), so we shared a bunch of entrees and then ordered one of every main we could see on the menu (from the Curries/Claypots and Coconut Grill sections). Entree standouts were the tiger prawns - HUGE and so fresh - and the soft shell crab and avocado with "Mrs T's magical sauce" - no idea what was in it, but it included shredded coconut and was fantastic. The mains I can remember were goat curry, fish curry, BBQ ribs (their signature dish - a must-try), pork belly, clams, and wagyu steak. Needless to say, the vego/non-seafood members of our party didn't fare overly well, but at least almost every dish came with a side salad.
Unfortunately, I was too busy/tipsy to take many photos, but I did take this one of my manager's dessert:
I had mini pancakes for dessert, which were topped with a shredded coconut mixture. Delish!
Our waiter was also fantastic. He knew we were 'hospitality types' and was very accommodating and friendly. I asked for a dessert wine and he gave me the leftovers of a high-end French bottle, opened but not finished by a party the night before. It was so good, I could have drunk that all day in lieu of food! But the food was great too :)
Following Christmas Party #1, we traipsed down the road to Blue Tongue (62 Ormond Road, Elwood), apparently an Elwood institution. Meh; I thought it was OK. We sat outside in 29-degree heat (fortunately, there was a canvas shade overhead) at unassuming-looking wooden benches, and had a few beers. The waitress was a cutie-patootie and my work boys very much enjoyed her looking after us! I could see how Blue Tongue would be a stalwart for locals, but I won't be going out of my way to go back.
Christmas Party #2 was in the upstairs function room of QPO (186 High Street, Kew), right on the forked junction of Kew. As this was a sit-down dinner for around 70 people, the menu and drinks options had obviously been limited. However, we did get to choose our own entree, main and dessert out of a few choices, and if I could have eaten any (I was soooo full from lunch), I'm sure it would have been quite serviceable. The wine was nice! And the young service-folk (I'm showing my age here, ha) were bright and accommodating, if somewhat bored-looking. Everything ran quite smoothly, so I'm sure QPO could be recommended for similar functions. There was also a pleasant view of the sunset from the windows.
Embarrassingly, I then went on to meet friends at the Prince Patrick on Victoria Parade - my new local. I am already on a first-name basis with most of the staff there, after having lived in my new place for only three weeks. Shameful! I was quite trolleyed and it was late, so I only managed one Frangelico on the rocks there before heading home for further shenanigans with my friends in the privacy of my own walls!
There were seven of us (including one vegetarian and one non-seafood-eater), so we shared a bunch of entrees and then ordered one of every main we could see on the menu (from the Curries/Claypots and Coconut Grill sections). Entree standouts were the tiger prawns - HUGE and so fresh - and the soft shell crab and avocado with "Mrs T's magical sauce" - no idea what was in it, but it included shredded coconut and was fantastic. The mains I can remember were goat curry, fish curry, BBQ ribs (their signature dish - a must-try), pork belly, clams, and wagyu steak. Needless to say, the vego/non-seafood members of our party didn't fare overly well, but at least almost every dish came with a side salad.
Unfortunately, I was too busy/tipsy to take many photos, but I did take this one of my manager's dessert:
I had mini pancakes for dessert, which were topped with a shredded coconut mixture. Delish!
Our waiter was also fantastic. He knew we were 'hospitality types' and was very accommodating and friendly. I asked for a dessert wine and he gave me the leftovers of a high-end French bottle, opened but not finished by a party the night before. It was so good, I could have drunk that all day in lieu of food! But the food was great too :)
Following Christmas Party #1, we traipsed down the road to Blue Tongue (62 Ormond Road, Elwood), apparently an Elwood institution. Meh; I thought it was OK. We sat outside in 29-degree heat (fortunately, there was a canvas shade overhead) at unassuming-looking wooden benches, and had a few beers. The waitress was a cutie-patootie and my work boys very much enjoyed her looking after us! I could see how Blue Tongue would be a stalwart for locals, but I won't be going out of my way to go back.
Christmas Party #2 was in the upstairs function room of QPO (186 High Street, Kew), right on the forked junction of Kew. As this was a sit-down dinner for around 70 people, the menu and drinks options had obviously been limited. However, we did get to choose our own entree, main and dessert out of a few choices, and if I could have eaten any (I was soooo full from lunch), I'm sure it would have been quite serviceable. The wine was nice! And the young service-folk (I'm showing my age here, ha) were bright and accommodating, if somewhat bored-looking. Everything ran quite smoothly, so I'm sure QPO could be recommended for similar functions. There was also a pleasant view of the sunset from the windows.
Embarrassingly, I then went on to meet friends at the Prince Patrick on Victoria Parade - my new local. I am already on a first-name basis with most of the staff there, after having lived in my new place for only three weeks. Shameful! I was quite trolleyed and it was late, so I only managed one Frangelico on the rocks there before heading home for further shenanigans with my friends in the privacy of my own walls!